Radiograph marking means and method of making the same



Avg. 15, 193%. H. s. SAWFORD 1,922,322

RAI OGRAPH MARKING MEANS AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Sept. 1, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I \k K 1r s a 2 4 I L A f v INVENTOR r Ham/d S. Saw/0rd.

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L ATTORNEYS 4O marking area between the first patented Aug. 15, 1933 Y RADIOGRAPH MARKING MEANS AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Harold s Sawford,

Ozone Park, N. Y.

Application September 1, 1932. Serial No. 631,357 13 Claims. 01. 250-34) This invention relates to novel means for marking radiographs and to the method of making the marking means. In certain aspects the invention is in the. nature of an improvement upon the invention disclosed and claimed in my pending application Serial No. 500,826, filed December 8, 1930, for Method and means for marking radiographs.

a An important object of the invention is to provide radiograph markers which may have identifying data written upon them and which may be associated with the radiograph plate or film at the time of the making of an exposure toapply to a marginalportion of the plate or film a clear transcript of the data written on the marker.

In making radiographs the radiograph plate is placed in a cassette between the exit faces of two fluorescent screens. These screens, by con verting the X-rays into actinic rays of longer,

wave length, increase the effectiveness of the X-rays upon the photographic emulsion on the plate. A portion of the X-rays are converted at the first screen while a portion are transmitted through for conversion at the second screen and there reflected in the form of actinic rays. Radiograph exposures are as a rule heavy exposures since the purpose of the radiograph is generally to depict the condition of a concealed part, such as a bone, which is substantially shielded by the surrounding flesh. Since the exposure must be of suificient intensity to overcome this shielding, there is a grave liability that the sensitive material on the plate in the marking area will be over-exposed and burned up unless a; corresponding or comparable degree of shielding is provided in the marking area.

For anything but verylight exposures, it is desirable to i-nterpose shielding means in the intensifying screen and the plate. A simple shield opaque to actim'c rays but not to X-rays will suifice for exposures of moderate intensity since a shield thus situated cuts off theactinic rays from the screen of greater intensity, In light exposures, the difference in the intensities of the screens is pronounced. I

In heavier-expoures the difference in the intensities of the screens is-less pronounced and the intensities of therays coming from the second screen is greatly increased so that in addition to completely shielding the marking area against actinic rays from thefirstscreen it is desirable to reduce the intensityv of the rays from the second screen to which the marking area is exposed. To this end, I have found it desirable to make the shielding leaf of the marker, which is interposed between the first screen and. the plate, of a construction such that it is not only opaque to actinic rays but is opaque to X-rays as well. a In using the term opaque to X-rays, however, I do not mean that the shielding leaf is completely opaque but that it is designed to absorb a substantial proportion of the X-rays. By using a marker of the kind indicated the exposure of the second screen to X-rays in the marking area may be regulated and hence the intensity of the actinic rays emitted from the second screen in the marking area may be regulated. I

Since different degrees of exposure necessarily require difierent degrees of shielding in the marking area, provision is made of a series of graded markers and the markers are provided with suitable indicia showing the kinds of exposurefor which they are, respectively, adapted.

By way of illustration, the shielding leaves of a series of markers may comprise lead foil having respectively thicknesses of one, two, three I and four thousandths of an inch and these so, markers may be provided with distinctive backing sheets of red, yellow and yellow-greens. A properlyinstructed operator will haveno dimculty in selecting the marker appropriate i to the kind of exposure which he knows he isabout to make. r A further feature of the invention has to do with the production of a convenient assembly sheet composed of a multiplicity of markers of a particular grade. To this end a composite shielding sheet is provided and a multiplicity of webs of relatively transparent paper is attached in substantially contiguous relation upon the backing sheet. Before attachment the webs are folded to divide them into marking areas and attaching areas, and are sub-divided both longitudinally and transversely by weakened lines to facilitate the tearing of individual marks ersfrom the composite sheet assembly.

Other objects and advantageswill hereinafter appear. 7 Inthe drawings forming part of this speci- V fication, I v r v f Figure, 1 is a fragmentary, plan View of a composite marker assembly embodying features of the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of, one of the =rela-. tively transparent markingwebs employed in producing 1 the structure of Figure 1, the web being infolded; i V

enlarged scale of the construction illustrated in Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an end view similar to that of Figure 3 illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

In producing the composite marker assembly 1 ofFigure 1, provision is made of a continuous backing sheet 2. This backing sheet is opaque to actinic'rays, being preferably black, and is formed of flexible sheet material, such as Japan tissue, which is of substantial strength but which can be torn without great effort. A sheet 3 is superposed upon the sheet 2. The sheet '3 is a sheet of adhesive material adapted to produce adhesion of the sheet 2 to webs 4 when heat and pressure are applied. A multiplicity.

of webs i is superposed'upon the sheet 3 in the manner shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Each web 4 is sub-divided into Zones of substantially equal widths by three longitudinally extending perforated lines 5, 6 and '7. It is also sub-divided by transversely extending, weakening lines 8 and thus divided into a number of rectangles. Each of the marginal rectangles has a form 9 printed upon it indicating information which is to be written in by hand, preferably in India Ink. The marginal zones 10 and 11 are folded in respectively upon the intermediate zones 12 and 13 before the web-is superposed upon the sheets2 and 3. The zones 12 and 13 constitute attaching zones for superposition upon the sheets 2 and 3 while the zones 10 and 11 constitute marking Zones" hingedly connected to the intermediate zones but not otherwise attached to the sheet. When the webs 4 have been placed upon the sheets 2 and 3 in substantially contiguous relation over the entire area of the latter, heat and pressure are applied to effect securement of the webs to the sheet 2. q

By these means a composite structure is provided which may be identified by the-color of the backing sheet 2 and from which individual markers may be conveniently torn. The lines 5 and 7 constitute fold lines and not tear lines. The lines 6 and 8 constitute tear lines. The

- perforations of lines 6 and 8 sufficiently weaken the composite structure to cause the tears to extend accurately along the lines in the backing sheet 2 as well as in the web l. Tear lines along the backing sheets are also accurately defined between the adjacent'fold lines 5 and 7 of adjoining webs, the absence of reinforcement along these lines serving to direct the tear.

An individual marker torn from this assembly v pends upon the character of the exposure which is to be made. In most cases, however, the shielding leaf is interposed between the plate and the first intensifying screen.

The construction of Figure 4 differs from that of Figures 1 to 3 only in the fact that the backing sheet comprises a sheet of lead foil 16. in

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, end View on an addition to a colored paper sheet 2a. The sheets 16 and 2a are adhesively united to one another in any suitable manner and the composite sheet is then adhesively united to the Webs 4 in the manner already described by means of an adhesive sheet 3a.

For different grades of markers different thicknesses of sheets 16' are employed and for each different thickness of sheet 16 a different colored sheet 2a is employed so that the characteristics of the markers'of a given assembly may be identified by the color of the backing sheet. These markers are used in the same manner as the marker of Figures 1 to 3 but for heavier exposures than the markers of Figures 1 to 3. These markers, moreover, invariably have their shielding leaves interposed between the first screen and the radiograph plate.

While the backing sheet 2a is varied in color to indicate the degree of shielding characteristic of the marker of which it forms a part, it is a point that the colors selected are preferably black, red, and certain shades of green and yellow which do not have an effect photographically; It is a further point that the backing sheet, which ordinarily lies in contact with the plate, is of a soft material, such as Japan tissue, which does not mark either the screen or'the plate. The backing sheet has a dull finish and servesto prevent reflection of light by the lead foil which would cause fogging. If the lead foil were left uncolored with the metallic surface exposed, itwould reflect the light shining through the translucent film from the second intensifying screen and cause fogging under some conditions.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiment of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiment shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. In a' radiograph marker, in combination, a sheet of translucent material comprising a front leaf and aback leaf, and a shielding sheet substantially co-extensive with the back leaf and secured thereto.-

2.In a radiograph marker, in combination, a sheet of translucent material comprising a front leaf and a back leaf and a sheet of material opaque to X-rays and to actinic rays substantially co-extensive with the back leaf and'secured thereto.

3. In a radiograph marker, in combination, a sheet of translucent material comprising a front leaf and a back leaf, a sheet of material opaque to Xrays and to actinic'rays substantially coextensive with the back' leaf and secured'thereto, and an indicia sheet covering said opaque sheet and indicating the kind of exposure for which the marker is adapted.

4. In a radiograph marker, in combination, a

sheet of translucent material comprising a front ing and'shielding zones, the latter zone being superposed upon and adhesively united to the backing sheet, and the web being weakened along transversely extending lines to facilitate the separation of the composite structure into individual markers.

6. A radiograph marker sheet comprising a backing sheet of opaque material and a plurality of webs of translucent material, each web having a central body portion superposed upon and united to the backing sheet and marginal portions unsecured to the backing sheet and foldable into superposed relation to the central body portion of the web, the webs being sub-divided longitudinally and transversely by weakened lines to facilitate tearing ofi of individual markers.

7. A radiograph marker sheet comprising a sheet of shielding material and a multiplicity of webs of relatively transparent material, each web being folded to provide upper and lower leaves, the lower leaves of all the webs being disposed upon the sheet of shielding material in substantially contiguous relation and being adhesively united to the sheet of shielding material.

8. A radiograph marker sheet comprising a shielding sheet consisting of a sheet of colored opaque paper and a sheet of lead foil, and a sheet of relatively transparent paper having substantially one-half its area superposed upon and secured to the shielding sheet and the remainder of its area free.

9. A radiograph marker sheet comprising a shielding sheet consisting of a sheet of opaque paper and a sheet of X-ray impervious material, and a web of relatively transparent paper 10. A radiograph marker comprising a marking sheet, a shielding sheet of metal foil of predetermined thickness adapting the marker for use with'a predetermined kind of exposure and an indicia sheet indicating the kind of exposure for which the marker is adapted, the shielding and indicia sheets being attached to one another and to a portion of the marking sheet.

11. The method of making radiograph markers which comprises providing an opaque backing sheet, providing a multiplicity of marking webs of relatively transparent material, folding the longitudinal marginal portions of each marking web over upon the longitudinal central portion thereof, and securing the longitudinal central portions of the marking webs to the backing sheet in substantially continuous relation. V

12 The method of making radiograph markers which comprises providing an opaque backing sheet, providing a multiplicity of marking webs of relatively transparent paper, weakening the marking webs longitudinally and transversely to divide the webs widthwise into substantially four equal sub-divisions and longitudinally into lengths equal to the lengths of the desired individual markers, folding the marginal sub-divisions of the webs over upon the intermediate sub-divisions thereof, and securing the intermediate subdivisions of the several marking webs to the backing sheets in substantially continuous relation.

13. The method of making radiograph markers, which comprises providing a translucent paper web, weakening the web along parallel lines to define marking and attaching areas of substantially equal dimensions, providing an opaque backing sheet, and securing the attaching areas of said web continuously to the backing sheet.

HAROLD S. SAWFORD. 

